Liberalisation of public services is without a doubt one of the more important, if not the most important, processes which have occurred in the field of energy in recent years. The process has enabled certain activities in the field of energy, which have historically been perceived as activities of general economic interest, which may only be carried out through a state monopoly, to develop into activities that are subject to laws of markets. Due to specifics of the field of energy, where the activities have always been considered as the so-called network industries, it was in practice unimaginable to even consider liberalisation of public services, before the legal acts of European Community had provided a basis for their gradual unbundling. The activities, which may be carried out freely on the market were therefore separated from the ones, which are generally considered as a natural monopoly. Between nineteen-twenties and 2009, six crucial legal Directives, six in the field of electricity and three in the field of natural gas, have been implemented in the legal systems of the Member States of the European Union, thus enabling the development of energy industries in a completely different direction. Nowadays, every household is able to freely choose its own supplier of electricity, there is competition between several producers in field of production, and the only activities that are carried out as public services, based on state granted monopoly rights, are the ones, where competition is either not possible or not reasonable.
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